Henry Moore

Henry Moore (1898 – 1986) was an English sculptor whose works reflected a semi-abstract and modernist tradition. His signature form is a reclining figure that he produced in different variations and with different materials throughout his long and prosperous career.

Moore grew up in a large family of eight in West Yorkshire, England. Young Henry’s artistic talent was recognized and encouraged by his teachers as he showed signs of artistic skill from a very early age. After serving in the British army during WW I Moore used the money given to war veterans to put himself through an art program at the Leeds College of Art. Soon after he graduated Moore took the opportunity to travel to Italy and France to get a look at the great renaissance painters first-hand. It was during this time that he came across the stone statue called Chac-Mool, a primitive Mayan sculpture that would leave a lasting impression on him and echo in his work throughout his lifetime.

The sculptures of Henry Moore became gradually abstract during his career. He was greatly influenced by modernism (an idea that says that art does not necessarily have to reflect what the eye encounters everyday). Henry Moore’s sculpture is not limited to reclining figures. A constant amongst all his variations of the reclining figure and other pieces is the play between positive and negative spaces. The sculptures portray the form of the human body in shape and proportion but is distorted by his play between positive and negative space. His pieces consist of bronze, marble or stone, wood, and brick.

Which was Henry Moore’s first public large scale bronze called? In which year did Henry Moore turn down knighthood and why?